There were a lot of bright, glowing moments in 2013 for long-suffering hardcore boxing fans.
A return to stacked (or semi-stacked) undercards saw some solid PPV co-features as well as some genuinely entertaining triple and quadruple-headers on HBO/Showtime. The cold war between Top Rank-Golden Boy and HBO-Showtime, instead of “ruining” the sport, actually saw all parties strive to give fans a bigger bang for their buck.
2013 also saw boxing take solid steps forward, in terms of U.S. TV ratings and live gates, while continuing to expand throughout the world– Proving that reports of boxing’s death were, indeed, greatly exaggerated.
In the ring, Mayweather confirmed his dominance, Pacquiao returned to glory, Bradley rebounded, Eastern European killers emerged, Ward confirmed his greatness, Stevenson forced himself on to the main stage, Hopkins continued to astound, the flyweights proved to be brilliant, Rigondeaux affirmed brains over brawn, Broner got his long-deserved comeuppance, and there was so much more.
Here’s a look at boxing’s best, worst, and strangest moments of 2013:
*******************
Fighter of the Year:
Adonis Stevenson
“Superman” took top honors this year with one-sided stoppage victories over two legitimate top five light heavyweights– Chad Dawson (KO 1) and Tavoris Cloud (RTD 7)– as well as a sixth round total destruction of top ten tough guy, Tony Bellew. The heavy-handed Haitian-Canadian would begin the year by avenging his only career loss by destroying one-time conqueror, Darnell Boone via sixth round knockout. Four wins in a year is an outstanding feat for main stage fighters these days, but to have those four victories come against such solid opposition in such devastating fashion while moving from fringe contender to true lineal champ is worthy of FOY honors.
Runners Up: Floyd Mayweather, Danny Garcia, Timothy Bradley, Juan Francisco Estrada
**************************************
Fight of the Year:
Timothy Bradley UD 12 Ruslan Provodnikov
The Home Depot Center in Carson, California played host to its second straight Fight of the Year battle as Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov somehow managed to keep pace with (and maybe exceed) the drama in last year’s Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado battle. Bradley-Provodnikov was a back and forth classic that brought out the best in both fighters, with Bradley, suffering from a concussion early on in the fight and walking on unsteady legs for much of the contest, proving his toughness and Provodnikov proving that he belongs among the elite of the sport. Ultimately, Bradley’s boxing ability would earn him the decision victory, but, really, there were no losers in this one.
Runners Up: Jesus Soto Karass TKO 12 Andre Berto, Marcos Maidana TKO 6 Josesito Lopez, Erislandy Lara TKO 10 Alfredo Angulo, Omar Figueroa UD 12 Nihito Arakawa
**************************************
Event of the Year:
Mayweather vs. Alvarez: The One
From the multi-city press tour to the unprecedented media exposure, “The One” set the standard for big fight promotion and reaped the benefits from its efforts. With over 2.2 million PPV buys and $150 million in revenue generated, the one-sided Mayweather-Alvarez romp, supported by a very solid undercard, became the richest fight in boxing history. In victory, Mayweather affirmed that he was not only the king of the ring, but also the undisputed cash cow of boxing.
**************************************
Knockout of the Year:
Adonis Stevenson KO 1 Chad Dawson
All it took was one thudding left hand to the side of Chad Dawson’s head for Adonis “Superman” Stevenson to claim the WBC world light heavyweight title as well as consensus status as the sport’s top 175 lb. fighter.
Runners Up: Jhonny Gonzalez KO 1 Abner Mares, Gennady Golovkin KO 3 Nobuhiro Ishida, Curtis Stevens KO 1 Saul Roman, Lucas Matthysse KO 1 Mike Dallas Jr.
**************************************
Round of the Year:
Omar Figueroa vs Nihito Arakawa (3rd Round)
The third round of Figueroa-Arakawa was the perfect representation of the thrilling lightweight battle carried on by the young talents at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on July 27. Figueroa would hurt Arakawa, Arakawa would hurt Figueroa, and then Figueroa would hurt Arakawa- all with the oohs and ahhs of amazed fans in the background. Figueroa would go on to win a twelve round unanimous decision, but both battlers made a name for themselves in this one.
Runners Up: John Molina-Mickey Bey (Rd. 10), Timothy Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov (Rd. 6)
**************************************
The Pernell Whitaker Virtuoso Award:
Guillermo Rigondeaux (vs. Nonito Donaire)
Expected to be a close battle of opposing styles and wills, Donaire-Rigondeaux on April 13 turned out to be a one-sided schooling as the Cuban star made pound-for-pound darling, Donaire, look like a five-fight novice, swinging at air and confused by Rigondeaux’s masterful use of angles and footwork. By the end of the evening, there was no doubt as to who was the best 122 lb. fighter in the world.
Runners Up: Floyd Mayweather (vs. Saul Alvarez), Manny Pacquiao (vs. Brandon Rios), Andre Ward (vs. Edwin Rodriguez)
**************************************
The Oliver McCall Puzzling Non-Performance in a Prime Time Drama Award:
Johnathon Banks (vs. Seth Mitchell II)
After destroying Seth Mitchell in two rounds just seven months earlier, Johnathon Banks turned in a rematch effort so wretchedly passive that one couldn’t help but think that “the fix was in.” Dropped in the second round, Banks still managed to have Mitchell in trouble every time he touched him. Unfortunately for Banks, he would rarely make the effort to try and lay hands on the tremendously vulnerable heavyweight hopeful. Instead, he would do nothing for the entire fight and work his way into a twelve-round unanimous decision defeat.
Runner Up: Brandon Rios (vs. Manny Pacquiao)
**************************************
Breakthrough Fighter of the Year:
Sergey Kovalev
The stone cold “Krusher” from Russia went from fringe-contending light heavyweight curiosity in 2012 t0 world champ and legitimately feared elite KO machine one year later. Kovalev now sits among the top two or three of the 175 lb. division with a growing fan base and a real chance of becoming no. 1.
Runners Up: Keith Thurman, Juan Francisco Estrada, Ruslan Provodnikov
**************************************
Upset of the Year:
Jhonny Gonzalez (vs. Abner Mares)
Jhonny Garcia is a respected veteran with a huge punch and an underrated skill set. However, he was a huge underdog when initially lined up to face rising star Abner Mares in August. The undefeated Mares was starting to receive pound-for-pound recognition and was expected to put Gonzalez away in a spirited battle en route to bigger and better things. But Gonzalez ruined Mares’ big plans with a big, overhand right and then a brutal left hand to eventually stop the heavily-favored young lion.
Runners Up: Marcos Maidana (vs. Adrien Broner), Shawn Porter (vs. Devon Alexander)
**************************************
Trainer of the Year:
Emanuel Steward
The late Hall of Fame trainer deserves this award posthumously as the legacy of his work has, arguably, surpassed the impact of active trainers’ efforts in 2013. Steward fighters, Wladimir Klitschko, Adonis Stevenson, and Andy Lee combined for a 9-o record in 2013 and all give a great amount of credit to the continued impact of the late trainer’s genius.
Runner Up: Floyd Mayweather Sr.
**************************************
Robbery of the Year:
Carl Froch TKO 9 George Groves
With the young Groves fighting the fight of his life and, possibly, on the verge of a major upset victory, a Froch comeback allowed for referee Howard Foster to completely botch things by calling a way too early ninth round TKO against a tired and apparently buzzed Groves. The very premature stoppage robbed Groves of a possible win and also robbed Froch of coming back to win the bout legitimately via real stoppage. Had Froch-Groves seen the final bell, though, the judges may have completed the robbery with a botched call nonetheless– at the time of the stoppage, two of the three judges had Groves up by only one point when, on most media cards, Groves was winning by at least five points.
Runners Up: Ricky Burns Split Draw 12 Ray Beltran, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. UD 10 Brian Vera
**************************************
The George A. Romero Gore Award:
Denis Lebedev (vs. Guillermo Jones)
41-year-old WBA cruiserweight titlist, Guillermo Jones. not only proved himself to be far from finished in his bout with Russian battler Denis Lebedev, but he also showed himself to be at the top of the food chain in his division. Panama’s “El Felino” busted up and dominated a game Lebedev en route to an ugly KO 11 victory.
Runners Up: Gabriel Rosado (vs. Gennady Golovkin), Alfredo Angulo (vs. Erislandy Lara)
**************************************
Gutsiest Effort of 2013:
Timothy Bradley (vs. Ruslan Provodnikov)
By his own accounts, Bradley was concussed, dazed, and confused for the vast majority of his WBO welterweight title defense against Provodnikov in March. Still, the Palm Springs two-division champ had the character and presence of mind to do just enough to earn the victory against his hard-charging challenger.
Runner Up: Sergio Martinez (vs. Martin Murray), Josesito Lopez (vs. Marcos Maidana), Gabriel Rosado (vs. Gennady Golovkin)
**************************************
Comeback Fighter of the Year:
Marcos Maidana
At this point last year, the heavy-handed brawler from Argentina was still recovering career momentum from a one-sided decision loss to Devon Alexander and fighting desperately to stay relevant in the deep waters of the welterweight division. Now, after the major upset over Adrien Broner, as well as a victory against Josesito Lopez earlier in the year, Maidana is the WBA champ and may have pushed himself to the front of the line of potential big money opponents for Floyd Mayweather.
Runners Up: Felix Sturm, Jhonny Gonzalez
**************************************
The Chris Brown vs. Rihanna One-Sided Beatdown Award:
Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios
It was never close, never competitive…Hell, in the real world Rios shouldn’t even have come close to winning a single round against Pacquiao in their Macau, China showdown in November. The embarrassingly one-sided unanimous decision over a hapless, clueless Rios was Pacquiao’s only fight of the year and an impressive rebound victory after his sixth round KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez at the end of 2012. Pacquiao did what he wanted and had his way with a Rios who seemed to stop trying to win after the first minute of the bout.
Runners Up: Miguel Cotto vs. Delvin Rodriguez, Wladimir Klitschko vs. Francesco Piantea
**************************************
The Rat F*ck Douche Bag Award:
Alex Devia
James Kirkland’s sixth round TKO of Glen Tapia could’ve been yet another tragic night for the sport. And, make no mistake about it, we’re lucky it wasn’t. Ref Steve Smoger and ringside physician, Blair Bergen may have let things go too long, but what Tapia’s trainer Alex Devia did was absolutely reprehensible.
Devia, who runs the Garden State School of Boxing in Pasaaic, NJ, pushed his fighter–a young, 23-year-old kid– into the jaws of death, for no other apparent reason than ego. By the end of the fourth round, it was quite apparent that this fight was not winnable for Tapia, yet Devia would insist on going forward.
With his kid unresponsive in his corner, spent and bloody and hanging on by sheer strength of character, Devia refused to consider pulling his kid from the fight. Instead, he would put Tapia into a position where he’d have to stop his own fight in order to save himself– in front of the HBO cameras, his family, and the small army of fans he brought to the Boardwalk Hall with him. Instead of taking care of his kid, Devia shamed him into fighting on. Tapia would’ve died rather than give, up– and he almost did.
Supporters of Devia will swear that he is a solid, caring individual with only Tapia’s best interests in mind. If so, this all may may have been a momentary lapse in judgment. In any case, though, Devia’s performance during the Tapia-Kirkland bout was boxing’s ethical low point of the year.
Runner Up: The Boxing Media
**************************************
The Jason Voorhees, “He just won’t die” Award:
Bernard Hopkins
When Bernard Hopkins lost decisively to Chad Dawson last year, it seemed as though the end of the line had finally come for the aged wonder. Well, a 48-year-old Hopkins would then manage to beat Tavoris Cloud for the IBF title in March and defend the title against Euro-pug, Karo Murat in October. Hopkins, who will celebrate his 49th birthday on January 15 begins 2014 as one of boxing’s recognized light heavyweight titlists and as a prime target for just about every top fighter in his weight range.
Runner Up: Tony Thompson, Guillermo Jones
**************************************
Comeback Nobody Asked For:
Antonio Tarver
Coming back from a tepid draw against cruiserweight Lateef Kayode that was later changed to a no contest due to a positive steroid test, Tarver reemerged as a pudgy heavyweight in November of this year. Facing off against the painfully pedestrian Mike Sheppard on a Golden Boy Live! card on Fox Sports 1, the world let out a gigantic “meh” at the return nobody demanded.
Runner Up: Jeff Lacy, Jermain Taylor
**************************************
The Avatar All Style, No Substance Award:
Adrien Broner
What started as a wild ride of videotaped debauchery and Popeye’s crapper soliloquies ended in a hellacious beating at the hands of Marcos Maidana in December as Broner’s star rose and fell over the course of twelve months. A three-division world champ in name alone, Broner’s passing resemblance to Floyd Mayweather proved to be empty mimicry rather than stylistic idolatry. The December 14 loss to Maidana served as a major comeuppance to a fighter long deserving of one and exposed the true nature– both as a fighter and as a man– of the 24-year-old “Problem” from Cincinnati, who mockingly simulated a butt-fucking early in his bout with Maidana only to get a beating in response and a simulated butt-fucking in return by a dominant Maidana.
Runners Up: Tyson Fury, Devon Alexander
**************************************
The Erin Andrews, Totally Exposed Award:
David Price
Big, strong, and possessing a punch that could knock the freckles off a face, Price looked the part of a heavyweight killer. Unfortunately, two TKO losses against the aged Tony Thompson exposed the UK giant as a stiff, one-dimensional fighter with serious stamina issues.
Runner up: Orlando Cruz
**************************************
Jekyll and Hyde Inconsistent Performance Award:
Zab Judah
It would be a cliche at this point to say that Zab Judah runs hot and cold. However, after seventeen years in the sport, there should be some sort of quality control or, at least, general predictability in the talented southpaw’s fight by fight performances. But, to this date, there’s no guaranteeing which Zab Judah will show up on fight night. Of late, the Brooklyn native has been used as a gatekeeper at welterweight and junior welterweight for upcoming stars, but in a spirited April effort against WBA/WBC 140 lb. champ Danny Garcia, it appeared as though Judah was fighting back against the fall guy gig. After nine rounds as a solid opponent, Judah fought back and finished the fight with a smart and ferocious three-round sprint to the closing bell. The spirited effort kept Judah’s name alive as a solid contender and allowed him a fairly big showcase fight against fellow gatekeeping Brooklyn boxer, Paulie Malignaggi eight months later. This time, though, none of the defiant bravery shown in the Garcia fight would be on display against the light-hitting, fast-talking Malignaggi. Instead, fans at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn were treated to one of the poorest main stage performances of the year as Judah did nothing for twelve rounds and allowed Malignaggi to chicken-peck his way to an easy, one-sided unanimous decision.
Runner Up: Johnathon Banks
**************************************
Worst Pay Per View:
“Pacquiao vs. Rios: The Clash in Cotai”
The card broadcast from Macau, China not only featured a horrid stylistic mismatch in the main event, but it filled out the big-ticket PPV with an ESPN 2 FNF rematch as its co-feature as well as two one-sided former amateur star showcases and a sloppy heavyweight time-waster. It didn’t take a boxing genius to see that this one would be a stinker and that this China-based PPV would likely be a buy rate flop, so it was a bit disappointing that Top Rank chose to sell this terrible show with the same price tag as all other big ticket PPV cards. Apparently, fans agreed with this critical review of the card as it only managed to register a disappointing 475,000 buys despite featuring cash cow Manny Pacquiao in the main event.
**************************************
WWE Moment of the Year:
Adrien Broner (after Maidana headbutt)
Behind on the cards and just generally getting his tail kicked by Marcos Maidana, Adrien Broner did his best bit of acting in trying to get the heavy-handed Maidana disqualified in the eight round of their December 14 clash. Yes, it was an intentional headbutt from Maidana and one that rightfully deserved the point deducted from him, but Broner’s bit of flopping on the canvas and writhing in pain was just way overboard and more appropriate in a pro wrestling ring.
Runner Up: Adonis Stevenson-Tony Bellew Press Conference
**************************************
Piss Or Get Off The Pot:
Gary Russell Jr.
…Tired of hearing the rumors of upcoming big fights…Tired of being asked to appreciate his tremendous talent…Tired of being told to wait…2014 is put up or shut up time for Russell. If the talented Olympian doesn’t fight someone of note in the coming year, it’s time to put away the bandwagon for good.
Runners Up: Deontay Wilder, Beibut Shumenov, Brad Solomon
**************************************
The “Hey, That Guy Works At Footlocker” Award:
Mike Sheppard (vs. Antonio Tarver on Fox Sports 1)
This is The Boxing Tribune’s annual award given to the most pedestrian fighter who somehow finds his way on to a major network. Congrats on making the Golden Boy Live main event on Fox Sports 1, Mr. Sheppard!
**************************************
The Walking Dead:
Rafael Marquez (vs. Efrain Esquivias)
**************************************
Should’ve Happened:
Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley II
Tyson Fury-David Haye
Ricky Burns-Miguel Vazquez
Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather
**************************************
UK Fighter of the Year:
Carl Froch
Froch wins this honor for the second straight year with a unanimous decision victory over Mikkel Kessler to add the WBA strap to his IBF super middleweight belt and a come-from-behind effort against an upset-minded George Groves later in the year. There has been talk that, at 36, Froch’s best days are behind him, but it should be noted that for the second straight year Froch easily took top UK fighter honors.
Runners Up: George Groves, Scott Quigg, Darren Barker
**************************************
Mexican Fighter of the Year:
Juan Francisco Estrada
As a flyweight, Estrada will never get the level of attention he truly deserves, but the 23-year-old battler from Sonora, Mexico had the type of year that should’ve garnered him some Fighter of the Year attention. A tremendous tw0-belt winning victory over Brian Viloria in April was followed up three months later with a first defense against well-regarded, undefeated top contender Milan Melindo. Despite a nearly unanimous snubbing by the mainstream “international” press, “El Gallo” will get the nod as Mexican Fighter of the Year by the staff at The Boxing Tribune.
Runners Up: Jhonny Gonzalez, Leo Santa Cruz, Orlando Salido
**************************************
Stick a Fork in ‘em, They’re Done:
Shane Mosley, Rafael Marquez, Danny Williams, James Toney, Roy Jones Jr.,
**************************************
2014 Should Be Their Year:
Gennady Golovkin, Leo Santa Cruz, Mikey Garcia, Terence Crawford, Vasyl Lomachenko
**************************************
From The Staff at The Boxing Tribune:
Thanks for joining us in our quest to establish boxing’s first 100% independent source of boxing news and editorials. 2013 was an outstanding year for The Boxing Tribune and we hope to keep growing in reach and influence next year.
2014 will see us take an even more aggressive editorial stance in support of the sport’s integrity. This is truly a grass-roots effort, initiated by hardcore fight fans and intended for those interested in distancing themselves from the shills, fan boys, and scumbags so prevalent in the boxing media these days. All of the major media voices in boxing are subsidized by money from promoters and/or managers– We hope to change that. Our aim for the coming year is to develop more of a news presence and fight to keep ourselves independent from the secret blogging societies, writers’ cliques, and old boy networks that currently bog down the public discourse in double-talk and meaningless fluff.
It is The Boxing Tribune’s goal to provide a home for independent thought, free of conflicts of interest. If you would like to support our site and allow us to remain free of ad money from promoters and network interests, please support our sponsors and/or donate to our cause. Thanks for reading and thanks for being a part of the movement!
“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for exclusives and other bonus material from Boxing’s Independent Media.